[USA] Make your own pastrami for great sandwiches

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Chuckwagon
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[USA] Make your own pastrami for great sandwiches

Post by Chuckwagon » Sat Jan 15, 2011 08:12

Chuckwagon`s Lone Peak Pastrami
(20 lb. formula)

"Basturma" originated in Asia Minor where people yet today make the recipe using camel meat. Historically, even horsemeat has been used. Later, in Romania, a highly spiced pork product known as "pastrama" was developed about the time Slavic Jews in Europe fashioned a kosher "beef version" known as corned beef - the "corns" referring to the coarse grains of salt used to cure the meat. Introduced to America by the immigrating Jewish community, "corning" beef became popular long before refrigeration was devised or commonly utilized. Today, more often than not, we make it for its unique flavor and texture. Technically, pastrami is "kicked up" corned beef, having an outside layer of crushed coriander seeds and black peppercorns rubbed and pressed into the meat before it is smoked. Round up 20 lbs. of beef brisket or beef plate and then make a 40° SAL curing brine by mixing the following ingredients:

1 gallon water
7-1/2 tblspns. (136 g.) Prague Powder Cure #1
1 pound (453 g.) kosher salt (coarse)
3 tblspns. coriander seeds (added for its flavor)
2 tblspns. black peppercorns (added for "spiciness" - please crack the peppercorns - don`t pulverize them.
1 tlbspn. white peppercorns (cracked for "spiciness" - if not available, use additional black peppercorns.
8 cloves fresh garlic (minced to provide flavor)
2 tblspns. yellow mustard seeds (added for "spiciness")
3 tblspns. brown sugar (added to provide sweetness)
3 tblspns. paprika (added to provide pungency and spicy hot quality)

A pound of salt in a gallon of water is an old favorite (easy to remember) of many sausage makers. This brine is 40 SAL degrees and about 10.5% salt. Some people prefer a more "sturdy" 60 SAL solution by using 1-1/2 lbs. of salt (nearly 16% salt by weight). Of course, the duration in the brine is shorter and it is a little "stiff" for poultry, but just fine for beef or pork. Toast the peppercorns and seeds in a dry skillet a few minutes, to release their oils and flavor. Stir all the ingredients into the water, bring the solution to boil, remove it from the heat, and allow it to return to room temperature.

Pump the briskets (or plates) in several places with enough brine to equal 10% of the weight of the meat. Place the meat in a non-reactive container covered by the remaining brine for 5 days at 38° F (3° C.). Be sure the meat is submerged; use a couple of clean dinner plates to hold it down if necessary. (I stopped using rusty horseshoes long ago!) Having "baptized the brisket" five days, flush away the brine and cover the brisket overnight using fresh, cold, water. It is a good idea to change the water once again during this period after about four hours. Finally, rinse the meat and pat it dry. Press and rub freshly cracked black peppercorns into the surface (with more coriander seeds if desired) to form a thick coating. When the meat has dried completely, hang the pieces inside a preheated 140° F. (60° C.) smokehouse and smoke them an hour in your favorite smoke. Hickory is very nice. Careful now, beef is not as forgiving as is pork, and may be easily oversmoked. Next, cover the meat with foil (to hold in moisture) and finish cooking the pastrami inside a "slow" oven at only 200° F. (93° C.). Continue cooking the meat slowly until it eventually reaches an internal meat temperature of 165° F. (74° C.). The meat may also be baked inside a covered Dutch oven if you prefer not to use foil. When the pastrami has cooled to room temperature, place it into the refrigerator 8 hours before slicing.

"Shotgun Sanford`s .12 Gauge Mustard"
(Mustard Dressing For Pastrami)

1/2 cup Coleman`s dry mustard powder
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tspn. pulverized red pepper flakes
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tspn. prepared horseradish
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tspn. salt (un-iodized flaked)
1-1/3 cup mayonnaise
*water

Heat the flour in the bottom of a Dutch oven, until it start to turn golden brown. Remove the utensil from the heat and add the remaining ingredients except the mayonnaise. Stir the mixture to blend it. If more moisture is needed, add cold water as you continue stirring. Replace the Dutch oven over the heat and simmer the mixture while continuing to stir. When the mustard begins to thicken from the heat, remove it and allow it to cool for a few hours. Finally add the mayonnaise and stir it until blended. Store the mustard dressing in a glass container for a week before using it on pastrami.


Best wishes,
Chuckwagon
Last edited by Chuckwagon on Mon Dec 22, 2014 17:03, edited 4 times in total.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by Dave Zac » Sat Jan 15, 2011 15:23

Thanks for the recipe CW. Brisket has moved from my long term list to the short list. Now with this pastrami recipe, I will try it sooner I do believe.
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Post by Troski » Sat Jan 15, 2011 18:30

Ive got 7 Lbs of brisket curing right now and almost the same recipe except for the coriander seeds. I was gonna leave them as corned beef as I have never had Pastrami and don't know what its supposed to taste like. I have a few days to make up my mind :???:
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Post by CrankyBuzzard » Sat Jan 15, 2011 21:59

Troski wrote:Ive got 7 Lbs of brisket curing right now and almost the same recipe except for the coriander seeds. I was gonna leave them as corned beef as I have never had Pastrami and don't know what its supposed to taste like. I have a few days to make up my mind :???:
Just prior to steaming, boiling, etc, your corned beef, cut a chunk off of it and put it on the smoker and then do it like CW described. If you don't care for the results, the pooch gets a great treat, if you do like it, just toss the rest of the brisket on the pit and let her run.

Pastrami is basically a smoked corned beef for the most part.

If you like corned beef you'll love pastrami more than likely.

Charlie
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Post by Chuckwagon » Sun Jan 16, 2011 02:22

Hi Guys,

Not far from here is a little town with a big history. Years ago, as all the big hamburger chains came into the west, the mom & pop places began to dissappear. One smart guy closed his joint, enlarged it, painted everything purple and reopened it calling the place the "Purple Turtle". No big deal eh? Well, he changed his menu too. He started serving double smoke-grilled burgers with loads of thinly sliced pastrami stacked on the top with his own special sauce... uh... Russian dressing! Some folks preferred his house sauce made of pickle juice, mayonaisse, and ketchup I think. Anyway the pastrami slices hit the grill just long enough to sear. To this day, you must wait in line to get 'em. Good pastrami with just the right dressing on a toasted bun is a knockout.
Our "ranch" style pastrami was smoked in hickory and had a Polish favorite (coriander seeds) pressed into the bark with cracked black pepper as thick as yer' Stetson!
Hope you all enjoy the stuff like we do.
Best Wishes, Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by Gray Goat » Tue Feb 22, 2011 06:07

This recipe looks great CW, do you think a fresh water soak is needed between the brining and smoking to cut down on the salt?
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Post by Chuckwagon » Tue Feb 22, 2011 06:23

Yup, Gray Goat.
Especially if you have high blood pressure like I do.
Hey, take out some of the salt. Our bodies just don't need it. Ask any doc!

Best Wishes Sir,
Your pal,
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by CrankyBuzzard » Wed Feb 23, 2011 01:37

Chuckwagon wrote:Yup, Gray Goat.
Especially if you have high blood pressure like I do.
Hey, take out some of the salt. Our bodies just don't need it. Ask any doc!

Best Wishes Sir,
Your pal,
Chuckwagon
You can "test" the corned beef just like you do sausage... After brining, soaking, and rinsing, you can cut off a small slice and fry it up to check the salinity. If it's too salty you can soak it a little longer.

Also, some will argue, but you can peel a couple of potatoes, dice them up, place them in the water with the corned beef, and they should assist in removing a bit of the salt. Save the potatoes though, they'll make GREAT mashed taters later! :grin:

Charlie
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Post by JerBear » Tue Jan 31, 2012 06:25

Only 1 hr on smoke? Would you hang an hour to dry out the surface and then a second hour of smoke? Seems like a short time..... I was going to use some applewood. Oh, just for some background I used the recipe from ruhlman and polcyn's Charcuterie with the technique of marianski. The brisket started as 12 lb 8 oz and was trimmed down to about 9 ish lbs. Thoughts?
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Post by el Ducko » Tue Jan 31, 2012 16:03

Guys, what's your experience with the so-called "Cajun injectors"?

:idea: Would it be possible to, say, start with a corned beef brisket, inject it with the same amount of brine called for in the recipe (10% of weight of meat, boiled with the spices in it), rub plenty of cracked pepper and coriander into the meat, wrap it with plastic wrap and put it on a tray (to contain any leakage) and wait the prescribed 5 days at 38 deg F?

I'd use a proportionately reduced amount of spices in the boiled solution, so as to keep the injected concentrations the same as what the original marinade was.

The advantage is that, even though I don't have enough refrigerator space to keep a honkin' big container of meat and brine cool for 5 days, I could still make it anyway.

I'm salivating for Chuck. E. Wagon's pastrami recipe, and I gotta do something about it. :lol:
Experience - the ability to instantly recognize a mistake when you make it again.
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Post by JerBear » Tue Jan 31, 2012 22:42

The basic Marianski recipe didn't call for any pickling spices in the basic brine but I added some of my recipe for pickling spice then strained off my 10% by weight and injected that. I've found that some of the thicker briskets don't cure all the way through even at 5 days so did the majority of my injecting in that area. Also. just before that I went at the brisket a few times with a chopstick a la Psycho and was hoping that the added aeration would aid curing in the thick parts also.
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Post by Chuckwagon » Wed Feb 01, 2012 02:45

Jerbear wrote:
Only 1 hr on smoke? Would you hang an hour to dry out the surface and then a second hour of smoke? Seems like a short time.....
Hickory is very nice and so is applewood. All the old sourdoughs (old timers) hangin` round my campfire never smile until the beef is on the plate! These ol` boys know that beef is not as forgiving as pork is, and indeed it may be easily oversmoked and turning it a little bitter. Yes, I`d dry it an hour then smoke it an hour. Of course everyone has their own tastes and preferences. Most people like a little "light" smoke on their meat. However, some may prefer to hold it in the smoke much longer. It all depends on how yer ol` daddy taught you to hold yer` tonge while the stuff was in the smoker. To cook the stuff, cover the meat with foil (to hold in moisture) and finish cooking the pastrami inside a "slow" oven at only 200° F. (93° C.) until it eventually reaches an internal meat temperature of 165° F. (74° C.). This usually take a little time... shucks, you may wish to file your taxes and send out next year`s Christmas cards while it cooks!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Last edited by Chuckwagon on Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:18, edited 1 time in total.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by JerBear » Wed Feb 01, 2012 04:47

Thanks Chuckwagon. I'm ginna be smoking and "roasting" Super Bowl Sunday. I wasn't planning on it being done in time for a mid game snack but the cooks always got to have a taste test to make sure it's safe for everyone else to eat! :razz:
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Post by JerBear » Sun Feb 05, 2012 08:59

sitting overnight in a rub of peppercorn, mustard seed, coriander, garlic and paprika before tomorrow's smoking/roasting.

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Post by JerBear » Mon Feb 06, 2012 06:32

I couldn't wait for the overnight cooling before loping off a piece to taste-test. Good spicy exterior (black pepper, mustard seed, coriander, garlic and paprika) but could have used one less day in the brine. A little tough but a thin slice was more manageable. The photo below is a side view and doesn't show the crust.

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Last edited by JerBear on Thu Feb 09, 2012 00:32, edited 1 time in total.
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